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East and West Coast elites in the media and Congress have long controlled the debate over U.S. energy policy, and they sometimes use that power to hamstring competitors in Southern, Midwestern, and Mountain states.For example, the Clean Air Act and other policies favor dirty eastern coal over cleaner low-sulfur coal in Utah.The same coalition of coastal elites regularly blocks new exploration in Alaska even though locals there overwhelmingly favor it.The latest round of energy proposals before Congress is no different, according the results of a new econometric analysis by CRA.

The study, which was commissioned by API, an oil-industry trade association, ran the bills through the MRN-NEEM modeling system and found that the energy bills now before Congress would hit some areas harder than others:

By 2030, the proposed legislation is projected to cause a net loss of roughly 4.9 million total jobs from baseline levels. While all regions of the country would be adversely impacted, the Southeast, areas around the Great Lakes, and Texas-Oklahoma regions would be disproportionately affected.

It will be interesting to see if legislators from these regions vote for higher taxes and more regulations that will hit their constituents hardest. Here's the study's job loss map:

Be sure to check out this commentary in Investor’s Business Daily written by Harry Alford, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, titled, “EPA Clean Power Plan Will Hit Blacks And Hispanics Hardest.” He discusses how Obama’s war on energy is disproportionately hurting minority communities.

Americans already face a $1.8 trillion regulatory burden. These heavy costs are passed on by businesses to consumers, who spend almost a quarter of their annual income complying with regulations often approved executive-level agencies, which have effectively become the fourth branch of the federal government.

American Energy to the Rescue
Americans want a robust economy with upper mobility. Increasingly, they realize the policies and the arrogance of Obama, Pelosi, and Reid have severely retarded our economic growth.

Despite the fact that the vast majority of black voters are Democrats and support President Obama, there’s a growing anti-establishment, anti-Democrat and anti-Obama trend that’s percolating in the black community.

Fracking is one of those issues that gets people really riled up, and almost always, the most prominent and vocal detractors have no idea what they’re talking about. Those who study the issue and follow the science tend to support fracking. Recently, we have been given another reason to do so: the very water which fracktivists claim is harmed by fracking.

Celebrity “activists” are everywhere and they love to tell us how to live our lives. They're often oblivious to the effects of bad policy on real people, and in this case, why would they care about providing affordable energy to the masses? They can afford skyrocketing electricity rates, why can't you? Yes, the latest round of celebrity do-gooders have plenty of opinions about fracking. Also true to form, these celebrity fracktivists are terribly misinformed.

On July 31, a joint press release was issued by Whatcom (WA) County, the Washington State Department of Ecology, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announcing the scope of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed coal export terminal and rail spur at Cherry Point. The proposed study opens the door for state and federal bureaucrats to decide that global warming impacts, local atmospheric conditions in foreign countries and other non-local impacts can be considered in the approval process.